This is probably going to be a bit disjointed, I should have slept more last night.
I think that setting a firm time limit for all off-topic threads is a bad idea. If it's going to happen, I'd like to request that threads which involve a debate or an exchange of philosophy (Iraq, Dem/Rep, etc.) remain open as long as threads about nonesense. This is, of course, assuming people don't say that their views are universal, or that someone who doesn't agree with them is a "poopy-head."
Yes, there are some threads which deserve to be closed immediately. I, also, don't think it's fair to those of us who would like to state our opinions, and then why we feel that way to close threads like the Dem/Rep one. Yes, a couple people were getting upset, but I saw promise. I thought with my next post I might have been able to cool things down and get back to a real discussion (I realize some of you may find this hard to believe, but it's true). But I was in Riverside over the weekend without an internet connection. Deep down I feel cheated that I didn't get a chance to aid the discussion, but there's nothing I can do about that now. I'd also like to say that having the time limit be a single day shelf life is a bad idea. Not everyone reads these forums every 15 minutes like some of us
, and maybe those people are the most enlightened and persuasive with regards to certain subjects. I also agree with Andy in that this is your site Brandon, and you should do whatever you want and without explaining yourself. I'd also like to vote for taking Chit-Chat topics off the portal page.
Really quickly I'd like to add/reply to Neal Probert's post. There hasn't been any damaging content, and I think people know what they should/shouldn't write when it comes to this. Also, I doubt ChiefDelphi is liable for me saying that Adolf Hitler wears a tutu, or something of that sort. Also, it's true that the Chit-Chat forum usually has nothing to do with FIRST, but why is that such a bad thing? I think it's great that CD has nurtured an online institution which draws in FIRST people, but then also gives them a side forum to talk about either nonesense or hold discussions about real world topics. The Chit-Chat forum should be viewed as something comparable to a "break room" at a job. I think it's up to CD to decide what this website is about, I don't think it's appropriate for us who aren't on the team to tell them that their website should only be about FIRST, and nothing else. Finally, if the signal-noise ratio gets bad, then why continue to read the material? There's no one forcing us to read every single new thread. I ignore plenty of them, and I suggest that people who get fed up with the nonesense do the same.
Yeah... I think that's enough of me for now.